Winded
Page 23
My hands grip the books tightly and my throat closes. Even through her anger and frustration with me, she carried out a plan so thoughtful, so en pointe, so needed. She hasn’t given up on me yet, even though I keep giving her reasons to.
“Thank you,” I manage to croak out.
“I wasn’t trying to be nosy, I swear.”
“I know. Oh, I know.” I stand and hold the books to my chest. “It’s the kindest gesture anyone has done for me in a very long time. And clever—I don’t know why I never did it myself.”
Jen looks relieved that her gift is well received.
“I don’t know either. It was the first thing I thought of when it was on fire. Now you can keep it somewhere safe, and if something happens to your apartment, at least you’ll have a copy elsewhere.”
Slowly, but without hesitation, I hold the copied book out to Jen. She takes it with a puzzled look.
“Keep it safe for me, please? I want it with someone I trust.”
Jen bites her lip, then gives me a smile.
“For sure, Merry. I’ll keep it safe.” She turns to go.
“Jen?”
“Yes?”
“I’m almost ready. Bear with me, all right?”
Jen nods, then closes the door gently. I’m left wondering what she thought of Braulio’s photographs, tucked into a flap on the last page.
EPILOGUE
A lot has changed in a few short days. Alejandro is a new confidant who knows everything, and he’s shaping up to be worthy of his grandfather’s trust. Two new people have their minds open to the world of lauvan, Wayne and Cecil. And Jen—it won’t be long before I tell her everything. I desperately hope that she can handle it.
The attacks from Drew weren’t so bad when they were focused on me. But when he took Alejandro and threatened the safety of the others, I realized how much I’m starting to care about these people. Their lauvan connections at my center are only getting stronger and it frightens me. I thought by avoiding romantic entanglements I could keep my splintering heart intact. But now, I don’t know. I’ll have to risk it. Like Braulio said, I can’t live in isolation.
There’s something strange happening with my new experiments from Braulio’s notebook with air and earth lauvan. I couldn’t walk through the barrier I assembled at my apartment door, even though Alejandro passed through it easily. I have a feeling that my investigations have only just begun.
Another thing: I will no longer be meeting with Dr. Minnie Dilleck. In the light of everything else, this is trivial news. So why can’t I let it go?
And then there’s Potestas. Drew is out of the picture, if only for a short while, but I can’t imagine they have given up their end goal. The last time they tried to connect with the spirit world, a volcano almost buried a town. What’s next?
Dear reader,
I hope you enjoyed reading Winded and following Merry on another adventure. Be assured, he is not nearly done with me yet, and there will be more to come!
You, dear reader, are how books find their way into the world. Your reviews—what you liked, what you didn’t—help other readers with that most important of decisions: what to read next. I want you to have a great time in Merlin’s world, so please tell me how I’m doing. You can find my book list on Amazon.
If you’d like periodic news on new releases and sneak peeks, please subscribe to my newsletter at emmashelford.com. Looking for new books to read? I run a Facebook group called Fantastical Fun Reads where we review books in the fantasy genre. Please join us!
Thanks for reading,
Emma Shelford
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As always, heartfelt thank yous are in order. Gillian and Guy Brownlee, Jude Powell, Kathryn Humphries, and Wendy and Chris Callendar provided outstanding editing and feedback. Maggie Claydon and John-Marc Priest kindly reviewed my manuscript for authenticity in their respective fields (but any mistakes are entirely my own). Dr. Greg Hodges graciously stepped in with his expertise in Latin. Steven Shelford, as always, supports me totally and completely, and never groans when I want to watch Lord of the Rings again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emma Shelford feels life is only complete with a healthy dose of magic and history. The story of Merlin provides her with both. Ignition and Winded are the first two books in the Musings of Merlin Series. Emma is also the author of the Breenan Series for young adults.